Andrea Fappani Sweeps Open and Open Classic Challenge with Modern Gun and Platinum Vintage

Photo by Waltenberry and NRBC

Friday night’s Open Classic Challenge and $25k Open featured 17 exemplary horses and riders that had the crowd at the edge of its seat from the beginning. Whoops and hollers emanated from the Ford Truck Arena, with some of the loudest being for Andrea Fappani.
Fappani made the most of it, winning the $25k Open on Modern Gun, and taking second in the Open and winning the Open Classic Challenge with Platinum Vintage.
Modern Gun, a former NRBC Open Champion who had lifetime earnings exceeding $213,000 prior to the event, earned $7,166, while Platinum Vintage, with more than $308,000 in lifetime earnings, took home $15,438.

“I feel great. I can’t be asking for much more than what we had tonight. These are two amazing horses,” Fappani said.
Platinum Vintage, owned by Silver Spurs Equine, is by A Sparkling Vintage out of Starjac Miss. “Platinum Vintage has been on the top of my list of all-time favorite horses for a long time. Todd Bergen showed him early on, and I’ve loved this horse since I’ve had him,” Fappani said. “The plan this year was to go for the Run for a Million. We finished third last year and that did not settle very well with me. It was one little rider mistake that cost me, so we were so excited to go back. When that went away, we were disappointed, but we decided to bring him to the Open here at NRBC because it’s always one of our favorites.”
Platinum Vintage proved he was a crowd favorite, as there were cheers the entire run. “I loved the fact that the crowd supported him so much. We did some amazing circles. They were probably the best circles I’ve had in a long time,” Fappani shared.
The only bobble on the run came during a rollback, which was reviewed. “They thought it might have been a break of gate, but it wasn’t. It cost us a little there, but other than that he was amazing,” Fappani said. “He will probably be done for the year, but I don’t know. I may want to come back one more time. He’s pretty cool.”
Modern Gun, by Gunners Special Nite out of Taris Modern Design, is owned by MS Stables. For Fappani, the $25k Open was a chance to show for good money one more time. “We had a bobble in the go round, so we missed the finals. We did the same thing at the Derby, so I just wanted to make it up. I know this is not as big as winning the NRBC Classic, but I wanted another run under our belt. He stepped up, even with having a run in the preliminaries yesterday,” Fappani shared. “It gave me the answer that I had him ready, it was just that bobble that kept him out.” Fappani noted that he loves to hear the crowd while showing. “It’s a lonely place in the arena, and when the crowd is not behind you, it’s even more so. When you have the crowd, it pushes you to do more. I love the pressure of that. If you make a mistake, they let you know,” he said. “I thank my whole team. I also thank the owners, who are the backbone of our job. Without them we wouldn’t be here. The owners of these two horses have been especially great. They have always trusted me and my program, and that means so much to me.”

By NRBC Press Release